I haven’t or not in this species. About your second paragraph, I believe that HANZAB and other books tend to not mention this sort of thing unless
it is sort of common. Because it is so random as to what species it occurs in and how it expresses itself on birds. It would be useful if field guides included a couple of pages of discussion of the sort of abnormalities that can occur. Or even what we find
in hybrids, which is another issue.
From: Canberrabirds
On Behalf Of jandaholland--- via Canberrabirds
Sent: Thursday, 8 January, 2026 4:30 PM
To: 'canberrabirds' <>
Subject: [Canberrabirds] Nearly all black Magpie-lark
For the past week or so. I’ve noticed a nearly all black Magpie-lark in or around my GBS site in Chapman. The only clear white is a largish wing patch, otherwise the bird is very black on the back (it looks like a male
Blackbird or male Koel when flying away) though lighter black under. The very interesting thing is that it seems to have become the male of one of the (three) pairs within the GBS site.
Does any subscriber have any experience with a similar bird? I’ve had a quick look through HANZAB online but can’t find anything, possibly because I can’t find a good keyword to search. A poor photo is below. Jack
Holland
From: Andrea Holland <>
Sent: Sunday, 4 January 2026 5:03 PM
To: home <>
Subject: Black mudlark
